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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29618919">Something Like Family</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LobsterLobster/pseuds/LobsterLobster'>LobsterLobster</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>DINLUKE, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 17:40:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,518</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29618919</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LobsterLobster/pseuds/LobsterLobster</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Are you alright?”<br/><br/>“Of course.” Luke blinked in surprise, “Why do you ask?”<br/><br/>“You’ve seemed a bit,” Din paused, searching for the right word, then settled on, “sad. Ever since your sister and her family left.”<br/><br/>Over last the last few months together, Luke had noticed that people tended to underestimate Din because he didn’t talk much, but he was actually very perceptive.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>398</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Something Like Family</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For reference, Luke is training Grogu on Yavin IV. Din is comfortable removing his helmet around Luke and Grogu but still mostly wears it the rest of the time. Also, I’m ignoring the Sequels in favor of the old EU.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Luke Skywalker knocked gently on the wooden door.</p>
<p>“Who’s there?” A gruff voice answered. Of course the Mandalorian would be paranoid, even though nobody else ever came into this section of the temple complex.</p>
<p>“It’s Luke,” he called out.</p>
<p>“Come in.”</p>
<p>Luke pushed open the door. Sure enough, Din was placing his blaster back down on the bedside table. Luke stared at him for several long seconds, then belatedly realized that Din was watching him with a guarded expression.  </p>
<p>Din was sitting on the bed, propped up by a pillow, with a sleeping Grogu cradled against his chest. He wasn’t wearing his helmet and his hair looked damp, fresh from the refresher and sticking up in random directions. In place of his armor, he wore a sleeveless shirt, utility pants, and a pair of thick socks.</p>
<p>Luke forced himself into motion, crossing the small room and spinning around the chair from the desk.</p>
<p>“I had to take my armor off,” Din said, his words a little rushed, as if to head off the inevitable question, “to clean and polish it.”</p>
<p>“Oh,” Luke said, noticing the pieces of beskar lined up on the far side of the room. “It’s very shiny.”</p>
<p>“Thanks.” Din looked away from Luke. Grogu made a small whimpering sound in his sleep. Din rubbed his back until he calmed down.</p>
<p>Luke started talking about his idea to take Grogu on a camping trip at the end of the week. Predictably, Din had no problems with long hikes through the wilderness and agreed without hesitation.</p>
<p>Luke found himself talking about Grogu’s latest Force training sessions and his ideas to help encourage him further. He suspected that Din had only a vague understanding of how the Force worked, but to his credit he always listened politely to Luke’s rambling thoughts.</p>
<p>After a while they settled into a companionable silence. Luke poked at the pieces of a disassembled rifle spread out on the desk. It was getting late and he should leave so Din could go to sleep.</p>
<p>“Are you alright?” Din spoke up, breaking into Luke’s thoughts.</p>
<p>“Of course.” Luke blinked in surprise, “Why do you ask?”</p>
<p>“You’ve seemed a bit,” Din paused, searching for the right word, then settled on, “sad. Ever since your sister and her family left.”</p>
<p>Luke put on a bright smile and was about to brush off Din’s concern. It was nothing, really. He was fine. But something in the way Din was looking at him made him stop. His smile fell and he looked down at his hands. Over last the last few months together, Luke had noticed that people tended to underestimate Din because he didn’t talk much, but he was actually very perceptive.  </p>
<p>Luke shrugged. He tried to explain, “Leia and Han are so happy together and the twins are old enough that they’re starting to show their own personalities. And I’m happy for them, I am. But sometimes… I don’t know how to put it. They have their happy little family dynamic, and I know they care for me, but it’s not the same. I’m not part of their daily lives. It’s hard being reminded of that.”</p>
<p>Din was watching him thoughtfully. He asked, “Is that what you want? To have your own family?”</p>
<p>Luke was not used to such a personal question. When he talked about the future, it was always about his plans to rebuild a new Jedi order, or his responsibility to help defend the New Republic. Nobody ever asked what he wanted for himself.</p>
<p>“Yeah. I think I do. One day,” Luke said. He smiled, to show Din that he was alright.</p>
<p>Din scooted over on the bed, making space beside him. Luke hesitated for a second but Din gestured, clearly inviting him, so Luke removed his boots and went over and sat down next to Din, stretching his legs out.</p>
<p>Grogu stirred. He blinked and cooed at Luke. Then Din was handing Grogu over to Luke. The child settled into Luke’s arms, one little claw tightening around the fabric of his sleeve. Through the Force, Luke felt a sense of contentment from Grogu. Din’s arm felt warm where it was pressed against Luke’s.</p>
<p>“A Jedi apprentice is like a Mandalorian foundling, isn’t it?”</p>
<p>Luke turned his head to look at Din, “What do you mean?”</p>
<p>“The bond between a Jedi and their apprentice is deep, right? It’s more than a school teacher and their student. You said when I first met you that you would protect the child with your life.”</p>
<p>“Yes, I did. And I meant it,” Luke said. He remembered the moment very clearly.</p>
<p>“It’s similar for Mandalorians,” Din continued, “The Armorer told me that until the child is of age or reunited with his kind, that he was in my care. That I was his father.” Luke knew this already.</p>
<p>When Din had first explained it to him, he’d briefly worried that Din was saying that his job was over now that Grogu had Luke, but he wouldn’t have searched across the galaxy to find him just to say goodbye. Din hadn’t said it outright, but Luke had gathered that he had come looking for them partly to make sure Luke was treating Grogu right and partly because he simply missed the kid.</p>
<p>Eventually Din had decided that Grogu still needed his protection until he was strong enough in the Force to protect himself. By then Luke had grown more than a little attached to Din, as well as Grogu. So why was Din explaining it all again? Then Luke realized.</p>
<p>“So, you’re say that I’m more like a parent than a teacher to Grogu,” Luke said. He smiled, and this time it was genuine. Din gave a rare, small smile. Luke wasn’t completely sure if the smile was for him or for Grogu, who was twitching his ears in his sleep.</p>
<p>For some reason, the way Din took such a roundabout way of encouraging him made it even better than if he’d said it more straightforwardly.</p>
<p>“So, then that would make you and me family too, huh?” Luke said.</p>
<p>Din considered this for a long moment. Despite being the one to start the whole conversation, he seemingly hadn’t thought it all the way through to its inevitable conclusion.</p>
<p>“Brothers, then?” Din said, but there was a touch of hesitation in his voice.</p>
<p>“No. Not brothers,” Luke said, a little too quickly. “I have enough siblings.”</p>
<p>Din chuckled at that. “Alright. Something else, then.”</p>
<p>It was so rare that Din wasn’t wearing his armor and his shoulder was at exactly the perfect height to rest his head. Luke settled in a little closer and leaned against Din, resting his head on Din’s shoulder. He felt so comfortable that he’d nearly drifted off to sleep when he heard Din say, very softly, “Luke.”</p>
<p>Luke turned his head to look at Din and he was so close that Luke couldn’t even pretend that he wasn’t staring. Din’s brown eyes searched Luke’s face, then he tilted his head a little bit and kissed him. Luke’s first thought was that if this was the something else that Din was talking about, then he could certainly live with that. Then he was only thinking about how soft his lips were.</p>
<p>When Din pulled back from the kiss, he leaned his forehead against Luke’s and Luke closed his eyes again, savoring the moment. Luke was about to go for another kiss when Grogu started squirming in his arms.</p>
<p>“I’d better put him to bed,” Luke said.</p>
<p>He reluctantly got up and carried Grogu into the adjoining room that he’d set up as a nursery. He laid Grogu down in his crib and tucked a blanket over him, then waited a moment to make sure his eyes were closed before returning to Din’s room, leaving the door open only a crack so they could hear if Grogu cried.</p>
<p>When he turned around, he saw that Din was now sitting on the side of the bed. He didn’t say anything but his body language was tense and nervous. He rubbed his hands against his knees, avoiding Luke’s eyes and glancing quickly towards his armor before looking at Luke again.</p>
<p>Luke suppressed a grin. It was incredibly endearing how Din seemed to have no concept at all of how gorgeous he was. And he was apparently equally clueless to the fact that Luke had spent the past few months quietly pining for him.</p>
<p>In two steps, Luke was standing in front of Din, who had to look up slightly to meet Luke’s eyes. Time to put him out of his misery. Luke stepped closer, so he was now standing between Din’s knees. He cupped Din’s face in both hands. Din’s eyes closed and his expression softened with relief. Moving slowly, Luke leaned in so close that his nose almost brushed against Din’s. He felt Din’s arms wrap around him. Luke wanted to take his time, to savor every moment, every touch.</p>
<p>Luke smiled and kissed Din. He had a feeling that this was only the start of something wonderful.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The consensus seems to be that Din probably has very little romantic experience, but he’s also the type that, once he decides something, he’s all in. Usually this involves throwing himself in front of blaster fire, but my point is that he’s a man of action. So I imagine that once he realizes he has feelings for someone, he would go for it and make the first move! Where Luke is more the type to build a really deep friendship for ten years before trying anything.<br/><br/>Anyway, I had fun writing this one and I hope you enjoyed it. Please review!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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